Wednesday, January 16, 2013

We’re baaaaaaaack!Pizza lovers of the Tri-State rejoice; we have returned after a short
pizza blogging hiatus and are now blazing through the last half of the top 50
Cincinnati pizzas.However, the
first post-hiatus visit was actually not in Cincinnati.We dropped in to one of our tried and
true favorites in Newport, on one of those warm, balmy evenings in January.

Almost everyone that we know loves Newport Pizza
Company.Only one of our friends
has been less than impressed, and we’d venture to say that was a fluke.Here’s why:Newport Pizza Company has consistently served up unique,
fresh, and delicious pizza every time we've gone, and that was no different on
this particular visit.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we have to admit that we dined
with a friend of ours who is also an employee at Newport Pizza Company.One could argue that our satisfaction
and overall experience is tainted or biased, but based on our past experience
as well, we are willing to bet that the experience was a true indicator of the
service and food we’d receive on any visit.

The atmosphere in NPC is cozy, clean, and comfortable.The service has always been very
friendly, and the staff is well-informed and extremely knowledgeable about the
menu and bar offerings.Speaking
of the bar--they offer a really great selection of craft and import beers, if
that’s what you’re into.Our
fantastic server Krista was attentive to our every need, and made sure that our
foray back into pizza blogging was going to be a good one.And it was.

We started out with some Fried Mozzarella, which are fresh
mozzarella chunks, battered and fried into gooey, geometric cubes, with a
heavenly crisp on the outside.The
fresh, house made marinara sauce was the perfect compliment to these, although
they could probably stand alone just fine.Courtney had never tried these before, and was definitely in
love. (p.s.there were two left and, though the
server kindly advised that these weren't very good reheated, we found them to
be just fine later.Come on, you
can't waste something that good!)

Between the three of us, we decided to order two 12” pies,
each split in halves with different types of pizza on either side.That was a benefit of knowing an
employee - she knew how to get the most bang for our buck and the most tastes
out of one visit.On one of them,
we chose the Monmouth and the Meatball Lasagna.On the other, halfBarbeque Chicken and half Zeus.

We both really loved the meatball lasagna pie, which
showcased their homemade sauce and meatballs.There was a light mix of Ricotta cheese in the sauce, which
was a pleasant addition.Eating
this pizza reminded Robyn of our annual T-Givin’ potluck, in which our friends
make delicious lasagna the night before Thanksgiving.Whatever your favorite lasagna is, this pizza will probably
remind you of it, which is awesome.The crust is light and chewy, but not too thin to support the heavy
toppings.This pizza is a
different kind of good, and the right choice if you're in the market for a
pizza that's not quite pizza.

Meatball Lasagna on the left, the Monmouth on the right

The Barbeque Chicken pizza was pretty standard for its kind,
but was great.Do not
underestimate standard ingredients; it's what they do with them that is
important!We heard this one is
pretty popular, and totally see why.The barbeque sauce was sweet, not vinegary.There was plenty of the sauce, which was nice.The onions were a little dry for
Robyn’s liking, but they still added good flavor to the pizza overall.

Barbeque Chicken on the left, Zeus on the right

The Zeus was the first NPC pizza that Courtney ever tried,
awhile back, and remains probably her favorite.This one offers fresh spinach, Roma tomatoes, garlic, feta,
asiago, and an olive oil base.It
is seriously the melt-in-your-mouth kind of good, actually just as good (if not
better) than Courtney remembered.This one is definitely the right choice if you want something with a
different kind of taste, or maybe something a little lighter.Also, if you love Asiago.OMG Asiago.

The Monmouth is the NPC house specialty, basically a high-end
deluxe pizza.This guy features
the usual suspects for a deluxe.The meat:pepperoni, awesome
Italian sausage, and bacon.The
veggies: bright green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.The cheese:mozzarella,
provolone, and Parmesan.These
ingredients are piled super high, so we recommend attacking this one with a
fork.A classic done right.

We know what you're thinking:"of course you're going to give it a grand review, your
friend works there!".Believe
us, though - we are not exaggerating.Newport Pizza Company is good stuff.Skip Dewey's the next time you head towards the Levee, and
drive a few blocks up to NPC instead.Maybe try the Pizza of the Month, where the NPC team tries out some
creative blends and thematic pies (it's Caribbean Jerk now, but we heard the Greek
they had recently was one of their best).And, if it's your birthday and you are an extremely lucky person, their
delivery driver will sing Happy Birthday to you in a full-on operatic
voice.You are not misreading this
- it's one of our new favorite memories.

It was a weeknight, and takeout pizza seemed
like a good way for us to spend the evening.There are a few places on the pizza list that offer only
takeout, or are perhaps best designed for takeout.Ramundo's has a very small interior, with its space mainly
reserved for the kitchen.There
are a couple of bar top-type tables immediately nearthe entrance, mainly there to accommodate the late-night
diners after their rounds of the many bars that pepper the heart of Mount
Lookout.For these patrons,
Ramundo's offers the good ol' pizza by the slice deal, also a good option for a
quick lunch for those who work at the local businesses.If you want a whole pie and a seat,
though, we recommend picking up an order and heading home to your dining room
table.Or, better yet, your couch,
which we all know is the best place to eat pizza.

For a few years, Courtney and her husband lived
right in Mount Lookout square, within walking distance from some great
restaurants.There was Ruthai's
for (you guessed it) Thai food, Betta's, no longer there, for wonderful Italian
(Filo Chicken!), and Zip's for a tremendous burger.Ramundo's was their go-to for pizza whenever the mood
struck, and they usually ordered a 3-topper with bacon, spinach and
tomatoes.It was always delicious,
with the freshest of ingredients and just a little spicy kick to the
sauce.

Having not had Ramundo's for too, too long,
Courtney was truly looking forward to reconnecting with their pizza.We called ahead to place our order,
which included that large bacon-spinach-tomato pie and some Ramundough Bites.These aptly-named treats are described on
their website as "zesty pepperoni & cheese rolled up in our garlic
butter brushed dough".Who
can resist that?Plus, we learned
about Ramundo's Rewards, a loyalty-type program for clients, and how new
members get a free order.Top
that.

The pizza was just about ready when we picked
it up, and we were quickly headed back to Courtney's to indulge in its
deliciousness.

Sometimes a dish, an event, a place can take on
added importance and greatness in your mind, increasing with the years and with
every time you remember it in conversation."Remember how good that blah blah blah was?""It was the best blah blah blah
EVER."We're sure you know
that overhype-things-for-yourself feeling; we can't be the only ones.Well, sadly, that was the case here.Courtney had such melt-in-your-mouth
memories of Ramundo's Pizza.Worse, she'd passed this excitement onto Robyn.In the end, we both ended up
disappointed.Bummer.

It's not that Ramundo's Pizzeria has bad
pizza.It's just that, well, it
wasn't as good as we wanted it to be.It certainly was not as good as Courtney recalled, though certain
elements do stand out.The crust -
crisp and chewy.The toppings -
absolutely fresh.The flavor -
something was missing.The sauce -
incredibly spicy.It probably
didn't help that, before eating our Ramundough Bites, we both doused them with
the side of sauce that accompanied them.The spice of the sauce totally overpowered the poor little pepperoni and
cheese snacks, and sent our mouths into a fit of rage.We were a little saddened the by
spice-level of the sauce, but figured it only hit us so hard because we had so
liberally applied it to the appetizer.Surely, the pizza wouldn't be so bad.We were wrong.Not horrendously spicy, but still a bit too much.Courtney didn't remember it being like
this in the past, but from what we've heard, that is generally the experience
with their sauce.There are folks
out there who love Ramundo's.After
all, it is #14 out of 50.We can
see that, perhaps especially if you're into spicy.Overall, it just wasn't our favorite.

Ramundough Bites-what's not to like here? Yum!

Some classic iceberg lettuce to cool the palate after that spicy sauce

We don't advise against Ramundo's, but we think
it's fair to say we don't highly recommend it, either.We've heard people exclaim their love
for Ramundo's, and we've heard others denote it as "gross".Guess we're right in the middle.If you are a fan, be sure to sign up
for Ramundo's Rewards.Their
e-mails are frequent, but they do offer some nice deals for their members,
including bonus treats on your birthday.Oh, and their calzones are fantastic.Well, so says Courtney's memory, which
is apparently not so reliable these days.

About Me

We are on a mission to taste test the 50 best pizzas in Cincinnati, as determined by the November 2011 issue of Cincinnati Magazine. In doing so, we hope to expand on their reviews and offer up our own experiences at each pizza hot spot. By no means are we trained food critics, but we like pizza and we like writing, so this gives us the opportunity to enjoy both.